Written by Rahul Vadodkar for his two kids Sumeet and Anooj
Told to them on the night of Oct 24, 2004.
Roger was crying because his pet bunny was missing. He looked for it all
over the home. He looked under the sofa, he looked behind the TV, he
looked in the back yard, he looked under the bed, and he also looked in
his father's office room. The bunny was nowhere. His mother tried to
calm him down but Roger wasn't able to stop.
Then he stopped and remembered his friend Captain Orange. He closed his
eyes and said 'Captain, O Captain. Please come'. Then he waited for few
seconds. The captain didn't come. Roger said the same thing again.
'Captain, O Captain. Please come'. No sign of captain. 'Hum ...' he
wondered, what happened to the captain.
He cried again thinking that his bunny will never come back.
Later that afternoon, he found out that Jonathan's bicycle was missing
too. And Patrick was missing his dolphin. All three kids sat under a
tree. They didn't cry there because big boys aren't supposed to cry. But
they were very sad.
"Why is the captain not coming?" Roger muttered. "Who captain?" asked
Jonathan. "Oh never mind" said Roger. He didn't want to spill his secret
to his friends.
When it became dark, the treo went to their own homes.
-----
Far away, an old lady was shaking Captain Orange. "Wake up Captain". He
didn't want to wake up. He wasn't feeling powerful. He tried to lift his
finger, but it didn't move. His grandmother kept shaking him. Finally he
woke up.
"You have been sick for so long" she said.
"I don't know what is happening." Captain said. "Someone must have cast
a spell on me."
"Why don't you try my Oatmeal breakfast?" she insisted.
"No way! That is the last thing in the world I will ever try." He ran to
the bathroom. But when he came back, he felt very tired. He reluctantly
agreed to grandmother's breakfast.
As soon as he took his first bite, he felt good. He took more bites. He
felt better. As he finished his breakfast, he was fully charged.
"Where are the messages?" He asked his grandmother.
"Here" she smiled, happy that this young man had finally found his
power. She handed him a bunch of messages.
"Oh, I need to go" captain went to his pod, lifted his hands above his
head, closed his eyes and thought of the first kid who needed help.
-----
"Where were you captain?" Roger asked. "I had been waiting for you. We
need your help."
Roger told him that his bunny, Jonathan's bicycle and Patrick's dolphin
were missing.
"This is serious" Captain said. Then he went to the backyard to inspect
something. He found some footprints.
Then he raised his hands over his head and said something. He
disappeared. In his invisible mode he snuck into Jonathan's home. He
found same footprints. Then he went to Patrick's home. Same footprints.
He knew who was the culprit. "It must be the Bandit" he thought. He
raised his hands above his head and muttered something. He appeared in
Roger's backyard. Roger was waiting for him.
"Did you find anything?"
"Yes. It must be the handiwork of Bandit. I know him very well. He is
the most cunning imp. But I know how to handle him. I will keep an eye
for him. He will strike again. Perhaps tonight"
That night Captain Orange kept vigil. At 1:30 in the morning, when Roger
was fast asleep and Jonathan had snuck into his parent's bed after
getting a nightmare, Captain Orange saw a shadow. Unmistakenly Bandit's.
It was moving fast. Captain had to keep pace with him. He thanked his
Gradmother for the oatmeal breakfast.
Bandit was going to Betty's home. He snuck into her toy room and stole
her barbie. Then he came out. He froze when he saw Captain Orange. He
dropped the doll and ran.
Captain ran after him. Bandit was very clever. He led the Captain to his
home. Captain knew that he was getting into a trap. But what could he
do. He had to help the kids and retrieve their toys. Captain took a deep
breath and went inside Bandit's home.
"Ha ha ha ha ha" Bandit guffawed. "I knew you would come after me. This
was a trap. I wanted to trap you in my house and throw you into the bay
forever. Then I could do whatever I please. Ha ha ha ha ha."
Captain smiled. He looked around. He knew he could escape easily. But
then he saw traps all over. Every corner had a trap. There was no way to
escape but to go from the back door. But the Bandit was standing there
with a big baseball bat. Captain knew there was no use of his muscles.
He would have to use his head.
"How will you capture me Bandit?"
"There is a cage. Go and sit inside. I will lock the door and you will
be locked forever."
Captain saw a cage. It was small. It had one door to enter, but no door
to exit. It would be very hard to come out of the entry door. There was
no way Captain would ever want to enter that cage. He thought very
quickly. Suddenly an idea struck.
"You are out of your mind Bandit. You are the most foolish person I have
ever seen in my life."
"How dare you say that" Bandit screamed.
"You want me to go inside that cage! How will I ever be able to go
inside? The door is so small, I will not be able to go inside."
"Mo the door is big enough." Bandit said
"I don't believe it." Captain was pushing his luck, but fortunately for
him, Bandit didn't catch his trick. "Show me that the door is big
enough. Can YOU enter the cage?"
"Sure. Here" Said Bandit. "I will show you how to enter the cage."
He then entered the cage. The moment he reached near the cage door, he
realized his mistake. But it was too late. Captain Orange was behind
him. Captain pushed him in the cage.
"There!" Captain was smiling. "You will rot in that cage for ever. I am
glad I was finally able to get rid of you."
Captain Orange searched the house. He saw Roger's bunny, Jonathan's
bicycle and Patrick's dolphin. He took those toys back to their own
homes. He put Jonathan's bicycle in his garage behind his jeep. He kept
Patrick's dolphin under his sofa. Then he gave Roger's bunny to him.
"Thank you for your help Captain. You are great"
"Don't mention it. All credit goes to my grandmother, who gave me right
breakfast." He then took his hands over his head, muttered something and
vanished.
-----
"Where did you find your bunny?" asked Jonathan. The three friends were
sitting under the tree. "I am so silly. My bicycle was behind my jeep in
the garage."
Patrick chimed in. "My dolphin was not lost too. It was under the sofa
seat. Silly me. I looked everywhere but the sofa."
Roger smiled and then said "Yes. My bunny too was under my sofa. We are
lucky to find our toys"
-----
A few miles away, Bandit was trying to find out what went wrong. His
plan was foolproof. He resolved to trap Captain Orange some other day.
He had a long time to think about it. Afterall he had to spend all that
time in the jail.
-----
Grandmother was very astonished when Captain Orange was up at 7 AM and
wanted to eat Oatmeal breakfast. She smiled and gave him a bowl full.
She knew there were other kids who needed help, and her grandson
couldn't wait to help the next kid.
-----
Captain, O Captain ... what would kids do without you?